She Will Be Loved
by Narrrcotic
Summary: NaruSaku fluff type thing. Oneshot


_ "I don't mind spending everyday  
Out on your corner in the pouring rain  
Look for the girl with the broken smile  
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile" –She Will Be Loved; Maroon 5_

The rain fell from the heavens like nectar from a sieve. Its richness kissed the earth, quenching the thirst of plants and dulling the hot, humid air. It splattered the cobblestone streets and herded civilians, much like the watchful shepherd over his flock of sheep, indoors, where many a child sat before a window, misty breath brushing against the frozen glass, forming a cloud of the child's own until the small fingers of that same child pressed against their white breath, scattering its existence.

The rain poured from the heavens like a drenching, purifying shower. It bulleted against her bowed skull, seeking to conquer more of her shivering, shaking body, not content with the matted appearance of bubble-gum locks and the thick streaks of mascara that ran down her cheeks.

Or perhaps it was simply irritated that it had not caused the streaks of mascara.

It was difficult to say who wept harder. The sky. Or the girl.

She took one small step after the other, finding herself incapable of powerfully striding away from the small café in the purposeful way most were used to seeing her take as her gait. Her heart clung to the small coffee shop, flickering with hope that maybe he would still show up.

Her mind clutched at the idea, only to rip it to shreds. It had been three hours.

He'd stood her up.

Sakura could not hold it in any longer; a painful sob shook her chest but disappeared into the air with barely any noise. It happened again; a convulsion in her thorax, almost like a hiccup. But so much more intense, stretching her ribcage and crumpling her lungs simultaneously. She hugged her arms tightly about her midsection, what little walking she was doing ceasing to nothingness as she groaned lightly, eyes squeezed shut.

This wasn't fair. It wasn't right. For this to be happening…She'd waited so long. Tried so hard.

And he had stood her up.

Even worse; it should not affect her as it was. She should be able to be the bigger person. To makes a smart, scathing comment and walk away with her nose in the air like the self-righteous female that she was. To be Tsunade. To be strong like the strongest kunoichi she had ever met. To be like her own tutor.

But she couldn't.

No longer caring if her body succumbed to the rough molestation of the rains, Sakura dropped onto her knees, almost enjoying the sharp physical pain as she collided with the pavement. It was a brief fluttering in her mind; a distraction of the pain that manifested itself within her chest, eating away at her diaphragm.

She couldn't breathe.

She fell forward, bracing her famously large forehead against the ground, squeezing her eyes shut and allowing her body to shake. Six years. Six years she had wasted on him. On trying to make him like her, on trying to keep him from leaving. Of trying to get him to come back. Of loving him.

She'd been so stupid! She'd gotten stronger. She'd found her niche. But he had always been her weak spot.

And here she was, in the middle of the rain, keeling down in the street, wondering if she'd drown.

"Sakura-chan?"

Through the unceasing sound of rain against pavement a voice came to her. She sucked air in through her grit teeth, almost wondering if she had gone mad. Sakura prayed for the voice, whether mental or physical, to simply go away. To leave her to her misery. To not care.

Because he had never really cared.

So no one ever should.

"Sakura-chan? Are you hurt?" The voice was closer now, an insane warmth, so different from the clammy cool of her skin, radiating from somewhere near her side as a large, gentle hand was placed lightly on her back. Sakura let out the breath she had taken in a long hiss, slowly shaking her head. She couldn't look at him.

Because he'd always been so nice to her.

A new wave of tears swept to her eyes. These not so much out of sorrow as out of regret.

Regret that she'd done the same thing to Naruto as Sasuke had done to her.

Quite vaguely the rosette realized that she could no longer feel the pounding of rain against her back. Reluctantly she turned her head, cheek against the pavement, irises darting upwards to stare at Naruto's whiskered face. She was immediately engulfed by cerulean orbs that swam with sorrow and worry as the blonde bit his lower lip. Sakura forced a twitching grin to her lips, which struggled resolutely to remain stiff. Her voice was low as she questioned him.

"Do you hate me Naruto?"

"What?" The blonde man was kneeling now, struggling to balance his beaten up umbrella in one hand as he gripped her shoulder roughly and jerked upwards. Sakura allowed herself to be forced into a stiff kneeling position. Her emerald stare was at the ground as her tears mixed with the rain water.

"Do you hate me?" Her voice was a hushed whisper; barely there as her shoulders slumped and her chin brushed her collarbone. Short, wildly pink locks fell forward to brush her jaw line. Naruto stared for a moment before shaking his head wildly.

"No, no Sakura-chan! Why would I hate you? You're the most amazing girl I've ever met!"

The smile that curved pink lips was genuine this time as a slight flush came to the girl's cheeks.

"Thank-you Naruto."

She shouldn't hate Sasuke. Because he was still her friend. Because they had been through a lot. And because it was his own damn fault wasn't it? She wasn't the one at fault. It was him.

She shouldn't hate Sasuke.

Because Naruto didn't hate her.

"Are you alright Sakura-chan? What are you doing out here in the rain?" The man asked, trying to force some amount of level calmness into his usually erratic voice. Pale brows knit together as he shifted slightly in his crouching position.

"Nothing." Sakura replied simply, shaking her head, spraying them both with droplets of water, "Positively nothing. Thank-you Naruto."

And before either of them could think about it, she had turned her head and leaned towards him, one of her gentle hands cupping his rough, stubbly cheek and tilting his head as she turned her own. Soft, pale pink lips met with chapped, rough ones in a smooth, gliding instant as her eyes fluttered shut, and his heart fluttered into nothingness.

Either it had stopped beating, or it was beating to fast to be noticed. Naruto's eyes widened.

The kiss was brief and chaste as Sakura pulled away, smiling shyly as she murmured once more, "Thank-you Naruto."

"Y-y-you're welcome!"

She laughed, and his heart skipped a beat. Together they rose to their feet, and with a small wave Sakura said goodbye.

Assaulted by the rain as soon as she stepped from the safety of the umbrella, Sakura raised her arms over her head. A moment later and the rain had stopped. She blinked at Naruto in confusion; he smiled his famously goofy grin back at her, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"I'm supposed to walk you home, right?"


End file.
